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Allusions to Revelations in "The Merchant of Heaven" by Margaret Laurence

Continued from: The Merchant of Heaven, Margaret Laurence: Part 1

Allusions to the last book of the New Testament also show us that Revelation was too complex for the Africans to understand. The Apocalypse of John, describing the last days before the Second Coming, is one of the hardest books in the Bible. Gordon Ferguson in Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory points out that, for many people, this book is too difficult to fully comprehend. This is why it was not very wise for Brother Lemon to start preaching from it. This method would have worked best for the Europeans, who already have some background knowledge of Christianity. In this case, a message from Revelation would have been a great reminder of the importance of their salvation. "It is a book of cheer, consolation, comfort, encouragement and confident victory to the Christian; but, on the other hand, it is a book of despair, ruin and tragic destruction for those who are evil, unbelieving, or unfaithful to Christ" (Ferguson). It would refresh their memory of Jesus' warnings about the end of the world and motivate them to go back to God. On the contrary, the African people had no memory to be refreshed. They needed not a reminder of the coming of the last days, but a basic explanation of the Bible, which brother Lemon did not provide.

Quotations from the book of Revelation help us see the difference between the gospel world preached by Brother Lemon and the reality of the life in Africa. Mrs. Laurence describes the country as a place of fetishes (ju-ju). People of the land are used to see them in everything: dried roots, snail shells, and chunks of sulphur and bluestone. Without any understanding of the gospel, they see the golden candles and the gates of pearl just as more fetishes. As an opposite of the American, Mr. Kettridge understands this very well. "'How do you think they interpret your golden candlesticks and gates of pearl?'" He asks the minister, "'As ju-ju, Mr. Lemon, just a new kind of ju-ju. That's all'"(229). While on the outside these people seem to accept God, on the inside, they still remain the same idol-worshippers as they were before. They are looking for idols, they are used to have, everywhere, even in Christianity.

Allusions to the Apocalypse of John also help us see where Will Kettridge, an intermediary of the story, is positioned. He is an architect who, as stated by Clara Thomas, has been in Africa long enough to know that he will always be a foreigner there. Growing up in England, where the teachings of Jesus are widespread, gave him basic understanding of Christianity, even though he is not "a particularly religious man" (223). He has also lived in Africa long enough to be able to relate to the people of the country. This puts him in a position of a middleman, who not taking any sides, is allied with both. As Will is balanced in both the African and Western worlds, his perspectives are easily swayed to fit beliefs, values and religions of both. Throughout the story, Mr. Kettridge keeps shifting his position. Understanding both sides, he does not have a very firm opinion of his own. As he listens to both Brother Lemon and Danso explain to him their points of view, the architect tends to change his attitude accordingly to what he hears. This pattern is repeated several times in the story: "When I first met Brother Lemon, I had seen him as he must have seen himself, an apostle. Now I could almost see him with Danso's bitter eyes - as sorcerer" (219). "The night before I could see only Danso's point of view, yet now, looking at the evangelist's face, I came close to betraying Danso" (229). The references to Revelation show us the difference between the architect and Brother Lemon, and the architect and the Africans.

Mrs. Laurence, as mentioned by Granville Hicks, "has a style that permits her to make the most of her knowledge of Africa." She combines her understanding of the Bible in general and of the book of Revelation particularly with the understanding of Africa to portray the picture of that mysterious land with its people, beliefs, traditions, fetishes, and dreams.